Santa will make another of his frequent appearances in Ocean City during the Downtown's Annual CHRISTMAS PARADE set for Friday, Dec. 6th, starting 6:30 p.m. Parade route is from 6th to 11th Streets on Asbury Ave. Following the Parade, Santa will be escorted to the Gazebo across from City Hall, 9th and Asbury Avenue. Here, he will greet youngsters, pose for photos and distribute treats.

 

The Ocean City High School Band will keep the march lively as will the popular Pitman Hobo Band known for its great music and comical antics. There will be floats featuring Ocean City High School Championship sports teams. The World's only Walking Christmas Tree will light up and greet on-lookers for a Parade Photo Op.

 

There will be free carriage rides Friday in the downtown from 5 to 8 p.m. The carriage rides will also be available on Saturday and Sunday from noon till 3 p.m. starting in front of City Hall, 9th and Asbury Avenue.

 

The Parade is sponsored by the Ocean City Retail Merchants Assn. Downtown Asbury Avenue features over 100 quality stores and restaurants known for personal service.

 

The Jay Eggly, Ocean City TRAIN SHOW will entertain hundreds of visitors and residents this Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 7-8 in the Music Pier Auditorium, Boardwalk and Moorlyn Terrace. This is an entertaining treat for the entire family. Children and adults alike will be fascinated by two, huge continuously running displays.

 

The entire stage of the Music Pier will showcase a Garden Railroad spectacular featuring large sized model trains operating in a colorful, woodland setting. Garden Railroad Club members will operate the exhibit. They will show children how to work the controls of the trains and stand by as youngsters enjoy a unique experience. A 30 foot Lionel setup complete with loading docks and other accessories will be featured in the Solarium of the Pier.  Both displays will be run continuously during the two day show.

 

In between the two exhibits will be dozens of vendors displaying and selling trains, accessories, decorations, memorabilia and railroad novelties. Repairs will be available during the show at the table of master technician Dick Yard, in the Solarium area of the Music Pier Auditorium.

 

Train Show Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is $3 for adults and $1 for children. There is plenty of free parking near the Music Pier at close by City lots. The show is held in honor of the late Jay Eggly, an Ocean City businessman and town booster who suggested the event and helped organize it many seasons ago.

 

SANTA PAWS: Okay, we know you love your dog. You take it for walks four times a day, indulge it with exotic treats, pet it excessively, provide it with the finest chewy bones and toys available plus shower it with sweet talk... But have you ever had its photo taken with Santa Claus? This is the ultimate gift you can bestow upon your canine! It will wag its tail joyously when you tell it the news, that yes! you will take it to the Ocean City Humane Society on Shelter Rd., Dec., 7th between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Not only that, you will plop it on the lap of the kindly Old Elf, himself, and smile happily as the camera clicks away. Yes you will smile happily because now you have given your pet the ultimate gift and spoiled it beyond your wildest dreams. And to top it off, it's all for a good cause. The $10 photo fee will help the Humane Society continue to operate its no-kill shelter and find a good home for displaced animals less fortunate than your doggie. Call (609) 399-2018 for information.

 

JOY TO WORLD: The Ocean City Pops Orchestra offers an entertaining Symphonic and Choral Treat on Sat. Dec. 7th in keeping with the holiday season. Heraldic Trumpets, dazzling bells and triumphant choirs join the Pops in this inspirational and traditional celebration of the holiday season. The program will start 7:30 p.m. at the Ocean City Tabernacle, 5th and Wesley Ave. Tickets are $15. Call (609) 525-9300. The concert is sponsored by Ocean City benefactors, Norman and JoAnne Schaut.

 

A Musical Treat: The MESSIAH SING-IN will be performed by the Atlantic Youth Orchestra at the Ocean City Tabernacle, 5th and Wesley Ave., Dec. 7 at 4 p.m. Admission is free. For information, call (609) 399-1915 or access www.OCTabernacle.org
 

The Ocean City Library's gift to baseball fans during the Holiday Season will be a visit by JAMIE MOYER, the Phillies durable 2008 World Series standout and MLB All-Star. Moyer racked up 269 wins over a long career in the Big Leagues. He pitched until he was 47 years old. He befuddled batters with his amazing control and a dizzying array of pitches that kept them off balance and swinging at the air. Jamie came back from elbow surgery and has more wins than Bob Feller and several other pitchers who are in the Baseball Hall of Fame. He is now president of the Moyer Foundation and has written a book "Just Tell Me I Can't." He will talk about how he defied the Radar Gun (using stuff rather than speed) and defeated time. Be there for a fascinating afternoon on December 8 at 2 p.m. in the Library's Main Lecture Room, 17th and Simpson Ave. Admission is free. Learn more about the many free programs at the Library, call Karen at (609) 399-2434, ext. 5238 or access www.oceancitylibrary.org.                                                                                                  

 

The Ocean City Theatre Company presents LIGHTS, CAMERA, CHRISTMAS, a 2013 Holiday Spectacular. This annual favorite returns with a movie themed production, "Come Rock Around the Christmas Tree." It features a cast of professional singers and dancers celebrating the season with a fully staged revue of songs from favorite holiday/winter movies. Program features high energy choreography, spectacular costumes, outstanding talent and a phenomenal set. Shows are scheduled for the Music Pier, Dec.13 at 10:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. Dec. 14 at 2 and 7:30 p.m. and Dec. 15 at 2 p.m. Tickets $18 Reserved, $15, Children under 12. Call (609) 525-9300 or visit www.ocnj.us/boxoffice .

 

A Live NATIVITY SCENE, Dec. 14 on the Ocean City Tabernacle grounds, 5th and Wesley Ave., 2 p.m. Call (609) 399-1915 or visit www.OCTabernacle.org.
 
A Traditional CHRISTMAS CONCERT, Dec. 14, the Angelus Chorus, Tapestry Strings, tenor Cody Austin, at Tabernacle, 4 p.m. Call (609) 399-1915. Free.

 

NOTE: Every Saturday and Sunday through Christmas there are free Carriage Rides, 9th and Asbury Ave. noon till 3 p.m. Also every Sat. and Sun. through the holiday there are photos with Santa in a Lifeboat at Music Pier, noon to 3 p.m., $10. Breakfast with Santa is available at a different restaurant each week, 8:30 till 11:30 a.m. Call (609) 391-0240.

 

GET YOUR FIRST NIGHT New Year's Eve. Admission Buttons now. Choose from 60 entertainment programs with fireworks at midnight and ice skating on the largest Ice Skating Rink south of Rockefeller Center at the 6th St. Parking Lot. Rink accommodates 100 skaters at a time. Skates are supplied or bring your own. Enjoy the world's tallest snowman, 30 ft. tall Bouncy at High School Football Field and much more! Admission buttons are just $15 per person. Visit www.firstnightocnj.com , call 1-800-BEACH-NJ or (609) 399-1412 or get buttons at Stainton's Square, 8th and Asbury Ave. in Ocean City.

 

GOOD DEEDS: The Cape May County Postal Food Drive will be held on Sat., Dec. 7. Letter Carriers will be collecting non-perishable food items to help fill our local food cupboard. The cupboard is desperately low especially this time of year. Please leave non perishable food by your mailbox. Your mail carrier will pick it up. You can also drop off food at the Ocean City Post Office, 859 Ocean Ave., M-F, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sat. 9 a.m.-1 p.m. or the Ocean City Food Cupboard, 501 E. 8th St., M-F 1 p.m.-3 p.m.

 

You can help the people in the Philippines devastated by the killer Typhoon Yolanda by sending a donation to OCNJ C. A. R. E., PO Box 807, Ocean City, N.J. 08226. Specify it is for Philippine Relief. Ocean City has a sister city in the Philippines, San Jose Occidental Mindoro, that was damaged by the storm.

 

THIS JUST IN! 2014 Beach Tags, those perfect stocking stuffers, are now on sale at the Aquatic and Fitness Center, 1735 Simpson Ave., the Roy Gillian Welcome Center, Rt. 52 Causeway, Henry S. Knight Building, 115 12 th St. and City Hall, 861 Asbury for just $20.